Page 72 of Runaway Hucow

Tess nodded. “I think this valley is where I belong. And… I think I’m in love.”

She was a little surprised to hear herself say that—it was the first time she’d said it out loud—but it was true. The connection she felt with her three minotaurs was impossible to deny.

“I see,” Shannon said, smiling. “Which one?”

They both turned back and looked across the pasture to where the others were gathered. Peyton and Tanner were still looking at the airship, Spike and Logan were still talking guns, and Roscoe was still getting Chase to entertain the children while Rufus looked on.

“All three of them,” Tess said.

It made her blush to admit it, but she didn’t want to lie about something as important as that. Shannon Duffy just chuckled lightly and placed a friendly hand on her shoulder.

“A woman after my own heart,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m also in love with three men. Rufus, Logan, and Tanner are my mates, and they’re the fathers of my children. Tess, I’m an omega. Do you know what that means?”

Tess nodded. She’d heard a little about omegas. They were one of the human mutations that had come about in the aftermath of the Occurrence.

“But if you’re an omega, that means…”

Now it was Shannon’s turn to nod. “That’s right. Rufus, Logan, and Tanner are alphas. You can’t see it because they have their shirts on, but all three of them have golden alpha signs just like your Roscoe.”

Tess broke out in a big grin.

“Well how about that,” she said. “I didn’t realize we had so much in common.”

After that, Tess and Shannon and the red wolf pup went back to join the others. They spent another hour talking and enjoying each other’s company before Shannon and her mates had to depart. They wanted to get up to Denver well before nightfall. Tess gave Shannon a big hug and thanked her again for all of her kindness and help.

“Hey,” she said. “You’re going to be flying south again in a couple of weeks, right? Maybe you could stop here again on your way back to Arizona?”

“Sure,” Shannon said. “If that’s alright with your friends.”

Tess turned around to look at the minotaurs, who were standing behind her. Spike and Peyton looked like they had no problem with the idea, but Roscoe was frowning. He obviously wasn’t too keen on the notion of hosting visitors again.

As soon as Tess whispered in his ear, however, and told him what she had in mind, his frown turned into a smile.

“Very well,” he said. “Shannon, my Tess trusts you and considers you a friend, and so I consider you a friend as well. You may come and visit our valley whenever you wish, but I must make one request of you.”

“Yes?” Shannon asked.

“You mustn’t tell anyone else about this valley. If people found out about this place, it could put the bison in danger, and I have spent my entire life protecting this herd. Can you promise me you will keep our valley a secret?”

“I promise,” Shannon said without hesitation, and her three mates all nodded in agreement. “And to prove that we mean it, I think we can share a secret of our own with you…”

She turned and whispered to her red-haired mate, the one named Rufus. After a moment, he nodded and said, “Okay.”

He took off his shirt and handed it to Shannon. Then he removed his boots. Finally, he started to take off his pants.

“Sorry,” he said, reddening a little. “I have to get naked for this. You’ll see why in a second.”

Tess was careful not to stare. She already had the three most amazing mates a hucow could ever want, so she didn’t need to ogle another man. Still, she did catch a glimpse of Rufus’s manhood as he was undressing, and she had to admit, Shannon was a lucky woman.

But then, so was she.

As soon as Rufus’s pants were off, his body started changing. His arms and legs lengthened. Thick, reddish fur sprouted all over his body. His face elongated into a snout, and he dropped down onto all fours. In a matter of seconds, the man named Rufus was gone, and a red wolf was standing in his place. The biggest wolf Tess had ever seen.

“Rufus is a shifter,” Shannon explained. “There are others like him, but they haven’t revealed themselves to the world yet, for fear of how people might respond. The only people who know about these shifters are me, Logan, Tanner, our children… and now you.”